Sports Direct planning to change name to Frasers

MIKE Ashley’s Sports Direct International is to change its name to Frasers as the tycoon continues his efforts to go upmarket.

The FTSE 250 retailer last night said it would hold a shareholder vote on the change at a meeting on December 16 in London.

It would see Sports Direct’s stock market ticker change from SPD to FRAS the next day.

But it will not affect the Sports Direct stores.

The change is almost certain to be approved because the vote requires 75pc support and Ashley controls 63pc of shares.

The tycoon, 55, bought department store chain House of Fraser out of administration for £90m last year, pledging to turn it into ‘the Harrods of the High Street’.

However, in July it was revealed the business made an annual loss of £55m and the entrepreneur admitted that buying it might have been a mistake.

Nevertheless, Ashley has pressed ahead with his plans for the chain and earlier this year vowed to rebrand as many as seven of its department stores as simply ‘Frasers’.

The flagship House of Fraser store in Glasgow already operates under this name.

Since April 2018, in addition to House of Fraser, Ashley has snapped up Evans Cycles for £8m, Jack Wills for £12.8m and Brookfield Shopping Park in Hertfordshire for £25.4m.

However, earlier this month, he signalled his recent acquisition drive was on hold after Labour’s Rachel Reeves, chairman of the Commons’ Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, accused him of using ‘bullying’ tactics.